The Village Blacksmith Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Poem Hunter The Village Blacksmith Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Poem Hunter The Village Blacksmith - Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Autoplay next video Under a spreading chestnut tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a might man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawney arms Are strong as iron bands. His hair is crisp, and black, and long, His face is like the tan; His brow is wet with honest sweat, He earns what'er he can, And looks the whole word in the face, For he owes not any man. Week in, week out, from morn till night, You can hear the bellows blow; You can hear him swing his might sledge, With measure beat and slow, Like a sexton ringing the village bell, When the evening sun is low. And children coming home from school Look in the open door; They love to see the flaming forge, And hear the bellows roar. And catch the flaming sparks that fly Like chaff from a threshing floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church, And sits among his boys; He hears the parson pray and preach, He hears his daughter's voice, Singing in the choir, And it makes his heart rejoice. It sounds to him like his mother's voice, Singing in Paradise! He needs must think of her once more, How in the grave she lies; And with his hard, rough hands he wipes A tear out of his eyes. Toiing, -- rejoicing, -- sorrowing, Onward in life he goes; Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close; Something attempted, something done, Has earned his night's repose. Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, For the lesson thou has taught! Thus at the flaming forge of life Our fortunes must be wrought; Thus on its sounding anvil shaped Each burning deed and thought. Rajnish Manga (11/15/2015 9:58:00 PM) This is not only a great portrayal of a village blacksmith but has a message for us to imbibe to enrich our lives at all levels- personal as well as social.

Great poem from a favourite poet: Thus at the flaming forge of life / Our fortunes must be wrought / Thus on its sounding anvil shaped / Each burning deed and thought. (Report) Reply Susan Williams (11/15/2015 2:18:00 PM) This is the ideal common man as much today as it was in Longfellow's day. Independent, hard working, religious, warm-hearted. A country can never have too many of these men. (Report) Reply Gangadharan Nair Pulingat (11/15/2015 8:48:00 AM) Very much interesting the poem which gives the minute points of smithy works and feeling of the gentleman who works as village smith. (Report) Reply Ratnakar Mandlik (11/15/2015 1:51:00 AM) A master piece of a poem depicting values linked with eternity. The melody of the meaningful and thought provoking poem is superb. Enjoyed the melody as well as spiritual touch to the poem given by the master spirit. Thanks for sharing.

(Report) Reply Seema Jayaraman (11/15/2015 12:49:00 AM) Loved stumbling over this poem on PH today.. just a few weeks ago an uncle..octogenarian whom we met in Chennai rolled out this poem from memory, he said he had learnt it in school many many decades ago 'The smith, a might man is he, With large and sinewy hands; and he compared the sinewy word mentioned here with the one I had used in my poem A Father's Grief.. what an amazing memory and what a lovely poem to remember for decades.. thanks for sharing. (Report) Reply John Tatum (8/21/2013 11:19:00 PM) I memorized this poem in the 6th grade...such strong lines and such great meter and, well, very inspiring. (Report) Reply The Village Blacksmith Analysis - eNotes.com The Village Blacksmith Analysis link Link Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Village Blacksmith” emphasizes how the life and work of a common working man can provide an example of persistence and accomplishment in spite of trials and tragedies.

The poem is developed in eight stanzas of six ballad-like lines of alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The poem begins by picturing the site of blacksmith’s workplace as “Under a spreading chestnut-tree,” then specifically describes the smith himself as a man made strong by his work: “mighty,” with “brawny armsstrong as iron bands.” The smith’s physical appearance continues to be the focus in stanza 2. He wears his black hair “long.” He is “tan” from working outside in the sun. More important, however, his character can now be revealed. He is “honest,” willing to do any type of work, and “owes not any man.” The third stanza centers on how important the smith’s work is to village society.

All year long, people can “hear” the “bellows blow” and the regular beat of “his heavy sledge.” The sounding rhythms of his workplace are as central to the villagers as the tolling of the church bell when the “evening sun is low.” In stanza 4, even children realize the significance of the blacksmith as they stop to watch the smith work on their way “home from school” and enjoy the excitement of “the flaming forge,” the roaring bellows, and the “burning sparks.” The poem moves away from the blacksmith’s workplace to the town church in the fifth stanza. With his children, the widowed smith listens to the “parson pray and preach” and to “his daughter’s voice,/ Singing in the village choir.” Although the service “makes his heart rejoice,” in stanza 6 the sound of his daughter’s singing reminds him of his wife’s “voice,/ Singing in Paradise,” her death, and the “grave,” which cause him to shed a tear because of life’s trials. Stanzas 7 and 8 summarize the message of the blacksmith’s example.

His life is a mixture of ordinary human experience: “Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing.” Yet he persists, regardless, accomplishing something every day, thus deserving “a night’s repose.” Just as the blacksmith’s life has been shaped by meeting and facing life events, so each person must be willing to continue on with life formed “at the flaming forge” with “Each burning deed and thought” shaped at the “sounding anvil.” More Content: Analysis (hide) Blacksmithing History 2 Blacksmithing History 2 1970-present Enough grandchildren must have been curious about Grandpa's anvil because a resurgence in blacksmithing began about 1970. Today, about 5,000 men and women belong to ABANA, the Artists Blacksmith Assn. of North America. There are an estimated 5,000 non-members. Add to that all of the farriers, bladesmiths, gunsmiths, and armourers and perhaps 20-30,000 Americans practice the metal arts of our earlier days. Maybe even more.

But that's still not many in a nation of 300,000,000 people. And when you whittle this down to the full-timers who derive their living from actual metalsmithing, the percentage drops even lower. Don't sell your car and tractor, just yet. The quality of work, especially in the arts, is more impressive now than it's ever been. There is more of a market for metal sculpture now than at any other time. The quality of work of today's bladesmiths and gunsmiths rivals any time in history. But rather than arm a village, today's workmanship is primarily sold to collectors. While the styles and nature of architectural ironwork changes from decade to decade, we are seeing some truly fantastic work today. But you will never see banks commission window and door grilles as they once did. Nor will your university install iron gates at its entrance. And finally, farriers know more about their trade today than at anytime in history. But unless you are in Amish country or visit the Budweiser Clydesdale stables, then you aren't going to find farriers shoeing work horses.

We, as blacksmiths in the 21st Century, are merely keeping the forge warm. No one pretends to be Longfellow's man. Nor would anyone claim to be a master blacksmith like Samuel Yellin. If they do, they know nothing of history. Speaking of history, consider this: Leif Ericsson wrote a detailed description of his Newfoundland expedition. He observed that winters there were so mild that they did not even have a frost during the winter. He also observed that cattle and sheep could graze year 'round because of the mild climate. The same site today supports only cold-tolerant vegetation such as partridgeberry, not forage grasses. Global warming, anyone? By David G. Allen Continue on to History, Part 3 * * * * * Endnotes for Part 2: [1] "The European Discovery of America; The Northern Voyages," by Samuel Eliot Morison. Voyages to North America. [1] "A World Lit Only By Fire," by William Manchester. Excellent perspective of the end of the Dark Ages and beginning of the Renaissance.

[1] L'Anse aux Meadows is a Canada Park: [2] George Washington commissioned two armories to make rifles. One was built at Harpers Ferry, WV in 1799. It was later the site of John Brown's raid (1859). Iron ore was first mined here in 1760 and continued until 1910. "The Bloomery", a high-quality ironworks, influenced Washington's decision to locate the armory at Harpers' Ferry. and [3] James Rumsey (blacksmith/cabinet maker) is credited with developing the first steamboat at Shepherdstown, WV. [4] For more on Indian Wars and raids, see: Chief Cornstalk, Lord Dunmore's War. Some brief information is at: [5] For examples of early iron making in North America, see: Founded in 1646--Saugus, MA Iron Works Founded in 1771--Hopewell, PA Furnace Prior to October 12, 1492: For whatever reasons, the civilizations in the New World lagged far behind the rest of the globe when it came to metallurgy.

It certainly wasn't for lack of raw materials, however. Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World with an array of tools, wares, and weapons and he must have been surprised that the metal technologies known for centuries to civilizations in Europe, Asia, and Africa were largely non-existent here. With the exceptions of copper, gold, and silver, the Americas had not developed much of a metals industry. Considering that the rest of the world had gone through the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Europeans must have been surprised to find such a primitive state of affairs. Wherever a metals industry did exist in the hemisphere, there were permanent cities with exquisite architecture. This was most notable throughout Central America and in the Andes Mountains in South America. But in what is now the United States, we don't see that kind of development. The reason is simple. Where metallurgy existed, tools were produced. With tools, man can make the land and its resources conform to his wishes. Without tools, man conforms to the land. Tools, engineering, and geometry went hand-in-hand because of metallurgy. In 1492, North American Indians were still searching streambeds for flint shards to sharpen into arrowheads.

Although iron ore is plentiful and well distributed in North America, there is no evidence of iron making. Who were the first true blacksmiths in the Western Hemisphere? Perhaps, the Norsemen. In 1001, Leif Ericsson built a settlement, L'Anse aux Meadows, on Cape Bauld, Newfoundland and excavations have uncovered an ironworks and forge.[1] The Norsemen found iron nodules in the bogs and streambeds near their settlement. Though primitive and small in scope, the Norse ironworks were most likely the first in the New World. 1492-1700 There are two primary reasons for the European colonization of the New World--precious metals and religious persecution. (Leif Ericsson's crew may have found iron, but they were also searching for gold.) Not long after Columbus' voyages, Martin Luther's objections to the Church in Rome were being mass-printed on his fellow German's (Gutenberg) printing press. And if you will recall the original purpose of Columbus' mission, he was to pioneer a trade route to the spice-rich shores of China and the Indies.

By the 1530's, the Protestant Reformation was in full swing and Magellan's ship had circumnavigated the globe. The events of this brief period changed everything there is about the world and its people and there has never been another era to compare with it.[1] It takes money to build navies, and when the Spanish found gold in Mexico, the conquest of the New World was on. In the ensuing century, the Spanish and Portuguese would claim and divide South and Central America as well as most of the western part of our nation. It took the Dutch, French, and English a while to catch up, but colonization of the eastern coast and the Great Lakes basin followed by 1600. The Spanish and Portuguese held true to the Church in Rome, but other Europeans openly practiced religions that conflicted with the 'state-approved' religion. These rifts began the European exodus to the New World. Depending on where you look at the map, iron production developed at different times. As soon as the colonists located an iron ore deposit, they built a small iron smelter. Prior to this development, every piece of metal had to be shipped to North America.

Wherever iron ore was found, a small industry began.[5] And with these small steps, blacksmiths could start making tools, farm implements, muskets, cooking utensils, knives, and nearly all of the necessities (even sewing needles and fish hooks) that a sustainable pioneer village would need. This is complicated time period to explain a blacksmith's work scope because, without a well-developed iron industry, the blacksmith was dependent on material shipped from Europe. Still, the blacksmith was of critical importance and he would have been called on to repair anything broken or worn in this time of shortages. For example, he would repair a plow or an axe, two of the most important tools that a settler owned. Horses are not native to the New World--they came here on ships. Chances are that the horses that made it here did not get shod because horseshoes were bulky and expensive to ship from Europe. Without developed roads, there wasn't a great demand for wagons--wagon parts, springs, and hardware were built by blacksmith shops back then. So most colonists had ox carts or pony carts to haul their meager possessions and crops.

And keep in mind that, without an iron industry, the blacksmith's tools and anvil also had to be imported. With the sailing ships that existed then, a few anvils added up to a considerably heavy cargo. By 1700, some areas were prospering and had many of the amenities that you would expect to find in any well-developed town or city. The Boston area is such an example. Though if you left Boston for the interior, you'd soon find yourself at the edge of western civilization. In 1700, the then-president of Harvard College was probably commissioning a blacksmith to make door hinges and chandeliers for a new academic building. Fifty miles away, however, another blacksmith was scouring the land for enough iron to make a farmer's plow. In parts of California and the west, we can still find the influence of the Spanish blacksmith. He left his mark on the churches. (The Spanish influence is also apparent in Florida.) As with the east, the church building was one of the first and most important public building in any settlement. The churches were adorned with architectural ironwork whose quality and design amaze us even today.

1700-1800 An important date in this century is 1793--Eli Whitney received a patent for the cotton gin machine. Whitney was somewhat of a genius when it came to mass-producing identical metal parts. His true forte' was in making triggers and hammers for muskets and rifles. Prior to then, all rifles were individually crafted by a blacksmith. No two rifles were identical.[2] Thus, the date of 1793 might well represent the dawn of the age of the Industrial Revolution, an age where metal tools and parts would be mass-produced. The reasons were economic. In the case of cotton, it took about as much manual labor to separate the cotton boll as it did to harvest the crop. The cotton gin, a relatively simple machine, allowed one man to not only do the work of many at a consistent production pace but also allowed for another important industrial benefit--consistent quality control. This one machine greatly reduced the cost of cotton which, in turn, made cotton fabric and clothing more affordable. Cotton became an export product as a result.

More cotton was planted--more plows were forged--more wagons were needed to haul the cotton to market--better roads had to be built--and blacksmiths provided these tools. But mass-production techniques being pioneered in the late 1700's would eventually replace much of the blacksmith's work. During this century, more horses meant more wagons which spurred more roads which spurred more communities. Commerce picked up significantly. Blacksmiths were critical to this development. Not only did they shoe the horses and build the wagons but they also made wagon wheel rims and made repairs. As commerce picked up and more settlers arrived, there was an increasing demand for plows and, of course, rifles. It has often been said that the long rifle secured America's quest for freedom. Not only did it have superior range and accuracy over any other weapon of its time but every colonist owned one and knew how to use it. Thus, many blacksmiths became gunsmiths. The first Act passed by our Congress was a procedural one that allowed it to conduct business. The second Act that it passed imposed a tariff on rum imported from the Caribbean islands.

Whiskey making was a growth industry in America by the 1770's and the Congress felt that our whiskey industry shouldn't be undercut by imported liquor. (This all had to do with taxes on corn and whiskey, not drinking.) I point this out only because whiskey was aged in oak barrels and a blacksmith made the barrel hoops. Most blacksmiths started work when they were young boys, maybe at age 6 or 7. At the ae of 12 or 13, they would apprentice to a blacksmith for a decade or more. And then they would set out to start their own shop. America became a great opportunity for young blacksmiths. In Europe and other parts of the world, there were few new or expanding markets for blacksmiths. If a boy did apprentice to a master, he might spend most of his life in that shop before he ever got the opportunity to be a journeyman. The 18th century created an unprecedented need for blacksmiths. Sailing ships needed hundreds of metal parts, pulleys, cleats, brackets, etc. as well as anchor chains. Blacksmiths made all of these parts.

Shipbuilders also needed hammers, chisels, saws, nails, and bolts and blacksmiths made them. The Revolutionary War effort alone provided a great demand for blacksmiths and gunsmiths. The loggers needed saws and axes as well as chains and hooks. Homesteaders needed hardware and house wares, most of which the blacksmith made. As the country grew, jails were built and blacksmiths made the locks and grilles and shackles. Unlike Europe where a city grew over time around a Medieval castle, everything in America had to be built from scratch. Many immigrant communities still wanted a part of their homeland, however. After all, they traveled here with only the barest of goods. Just as we pass down "the family silverware" from generation to generation, the same custom held true then. However, immigrant families left most of their heirlooms behind in the old country. This did provide an opportunity for journeymen blacksmiths from Europe. A blacksmith trained in, say, Cologne, Germany would seek out his countrymen in the colonies and set up shop in their village or district. He would prosper since he could replicate all of the old patterns that his fellow immigrants knew so well.

Though they couldn't bring their wares on the boat, these immigrants were not denied their heritage. 1800-1860 A key date in this period is 1838. John Deere (yes, the green tractor John Deere) invented a superior plow made from steel. His design turned the soil better than existing plows. But what made this event significant was the use of steel. Deere's plows also had replaceable cutting edges and wear strips. Unlike the hand-forged iron plow which was one piece and wore quickly along its edges, this steel plow lasted longer and the wearing parts could be cheaply replaced. By 1853, Deere & Co. was selling thousands of new steel plows, a significant milestone of technological change--steel vs. iron and manufactured vs. hand-forged. The American steel industry was underdeveloped in 1840 and produced a poor quality product. Deere relied on imported steel from England to make his plow successful.

In 1839, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the famous poem, "The Village Blacksmith." We can assume, then, given the poem's success, that the blacksmith was a revered craftsman. This period may have been the zenith in American blacksmithing. Even today, our thoughts about a blacksmith revolve around this poet's description. But this poem was a fading dream. Even the chestnut tree that Longfellow wrote of later died and the people of the town had a chair made from the wood as a gift to the poet before his death in 1882. During this era, steam power would change the nation.[3] The first steamboats and packets vastly improved shipping, both on rivers and on the sea. Steam power would begin to replace water power in grist mills and textile plants. No longer would the miller rely on seasonal rains to grind corn meal or flour. And of course, the steam-powered locomotive changed transportation in ways never imagined. By 1860, the South had its Merrimac and the North had its Monitor. And both had railroad networks. The blacksmith shop was starting to change as well.

The bellows was replaced with a rotary fan blower and the drill press became available for small blacksmith shops. In larger shops and some of the fledgling factories, one might find a steam-powered trip hammer. Americans were also moving westward. Being west of the Alleghenies in 1790 meant you were still on the frontier. But as John Deere invented his plow in Illinois, that alone shows how quickly the westward movement was taking place. For a perspective of this period, consider Salem, WV. Originally settled in 1792 by Seventh Day Baptist families who migrated south from Rhode Island, Salem was itself an island in the wilderness. The first buildings were a blockhouse and fort to protect the settlers from Indian raids.[4] From that beginning, log houses were built and the settlers developed farms. The town grew and it did prosper as a farming community. Six decades after its founding, Salem would find itself not on the frontier but in mid-America--a rail stop on the Baltimore & Ohio's mainline. And on the town's 100th anniversary, Salem was home to Salem College and sat surrounded by oil and gas wells.

1860-1910 To understand this era, consider the lowly nail. In 1800, a blacksmith made nails, one at a time, at a rate of perhaps one per minute. Nails were expensive. Lumber, on the other hand, was becoming cheap. And as lumber got cheaper, people wanted to live in houses instead of log cabins. A way to make cheap nails had to be found and it was--the nail factory. "Cut" nails were turned out in all sizes from spikes to brads because the typical Victorian house and its trim needed about 400# of nails to hold it together. Nails were so scarce and expensive prior to 1800 that some states had previously enacted arson laws, not to criminalize arson per se, but to prevent people from burning down sheds, barns, and houses just to sift the nails from the ashes! Factories such as Wheeling's LaBelle Nail Co. (1852, and still operating in 2010) met the demand for nails. And they forever removed one of the blacksmith's product lines.

Horses, wagons, and horse-drawn implements would dominate the blacksmith's work through this period. Factories would begin producing many of the tools traditionally made in the village smithy. And steel, not iron became the metal of choice. By 1910, Henry Ford had made a farm tractor that most farmers could afford. Along with his Model T automobile, Henry Ford would make the horse and wagon almost obsolete. And with this change, the blacksmith that Longfellow wrote of disappeared from the land. In a typical American town in 1900, one would expect to find livery stables, feed stores, wagon shops, blacksmith shops, horse corrals, horse traders, and horse trainers in about the same ratio that we now find auto dealers, repair shops, parts stores, driving instructors, and fueling stations. This shows how much the blacksmith was a part of the local economy. The change was quick and significant. Introduced in the 1890's, it would not take long for America to begin its love affair with the automobile. The technology of the cotton gin came of age in the automobile assembly plant. More than anything else, motorized vehicles and farm equipment doomed the trade of blacksmith.

1910-1970 There was a golden age for blacksmiths who made architectural ironwork during the early part of this period. But the Great Depression (1930) would end this Renaissance. Still, many of America's most-treasured iron works in iron were made during this time. Farming with workhorses did not evaporate overnight. And even the US Army maintained some horse cavalry and horse-drawn artillery units into the 1930's. But by 1950, nearly all agricultural crops were tended by machines and the Army was obviously mechanized. The farrier's main work shifted from shoeing work horses to pleasure horses. While many factories employed blacksmiths in their maintenance departments in 1910, they were eventually phased out as their need decreased. In summary, the art of blacksmithing almost became extinct during the latter half of this period. People would remember their grandfather's farm and the shed where his anvil was set up. But they had no idea of what Grandpa did in his shop. Essentially, if a job absolutely had to be done by hand, then a blacksmith would have work.

And there were some repairs and tools that called for the blacksmith's skills. But modern logic dictated mass-production and replacement rather than repair. It became cheaper to throw away a broken chain rather than have a blacksmith make the repair links! And what about those wrought-iron railings that homeowners bought in the '50's? They aren't hand-forged by a blacksmith; they are cold-bent in presses and welded together, and the finials are cast iron, made a hundred at a time. aaaaaaaaaaaaiii Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Poems, Biography and Quotes - by American Poems January 20th, 2017 - we have 234 poets , 8,025 poems and 318,592 comments . Biography of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882) Probably one of the best loved American poets the world over is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Many of his lines are as familiar to us as rhymes from Mother Goose or the words of nursery songs learned in early childhood.

Like these rhymes and melodies, they remain in the memory and accompany us through life. There are two reasons for the popularity and significance of Longfellow's poetry. First, he had the gift of easy rhyme. He wrote poetry as a bird sings, with natural grace and melody. Read or heard once or twice, his rhyme and meters cling to the mind long after the sense may be forgotten. Second, Longfellow wrote on obvious themes which appeal to all kinds of people. His poems are easily understood; they sing their way into the consciousness of those who read them. Above all, there is a joyousness in them, a spirit of optimism and faith in the goodness of life which evokes immediate response in the emotions of his readers. Americans owe a great debt to Longfellow because he was among the first of American writers to use native themes. He wrote about the American scene andlandscape, the American Indian ('Song of Hiawatha'), and American history and tradition ('The Courtship of Miles Standish', 'Evangeline'). At the beginning of the 19th century, America was a stumbling babe as far as a culture of its own was concerned.

The people of America had spent their years and their energies in carving a habitation out of the wilderness and in fighting for independence. Literature, art, and music came mainly from Europe and especially from England. Nothing was considered worthy of attention unless it came from Europe. But "the flowering of New England," as Van Wyck Brooks terms the period from 1815 to 1865, took place in Longfellow's day, and he made a great contribution to it. He lived when giants walked the New England earth, giants of intellect and feeling who established the New Land as a source of greatness. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson , Henry David Thoreau , Oliver Wendell Holmes, and William Prescott were a few of the great minds and spirits among whom Longfellow took his place as a singer and as a representative of America. The first Longfellow came to America in 1676 from Yorkshire, England. Among the ancestors of the poet on his mother's side were John and Priscilla Alden, of whom he wrote in 'The Courtship of Miles Standish'. His mother's father, Peleg Wadsworth, had been a general in the Revolutionary War.

His own father was a lawyer. The Longfellow home represented the graceful living which was beginning to characterize the age. Henry was the son of Stephen Longfellow and Zilpah Wadsworth Longfellow. He was born February 27, 1807, in Portland, Maine. Portland was a seaport, and this gave its citizens a breadth of view lacking in the more insular New England towns. The variety of people and the activity of the harbors stirred the mind of the boy and gave him a curiosity about life beyond his own immediate experience. He was sent to school when he was only three years old. When he was six, the following report of him was received at home: "Master Henry Longfellow is one of the best boys we have in school. He spells and reads very well. He can also add and multiply numbers. His conduct last quarter was very correct and amiable." From the beginning, it was evident that this boy was to be drawn to writing and the sound of words. His mother read aloud to him and his brothers and sisters the high romance of Ossian, the legendary Gaelic hero.

Cervantes' 'Don Quixote' was a favorite among the books he read. But the book which influenced him most was Washington Irving's 'Sketch Book'. Irving was another American author for whom the native legend and landscape were sources of inspiration. "Every reader has his first book," wrote Longfellow later. "I mean to say, one book among all others which in early youth first fascinates his imagination, and at once excites and satisfies the desires of his mind. To me, the first book was the 'Sketch Book' of Washington Irving." Longfellow's father was eager to have his son become a lawyer. But when Henry was a senior at Bowdoin College at 19, the college established a chair of modern languages. The recent graduate was asked to become the first professor, with the understanding that he should be given a period of time in which to trave land study in Europe. In May of 1826, the fair-haired youth with the azure blue eyes set out for Europe to turn himself into a scholar and a linguist. He had letters of introduction to men of note in England and France, but he had his own idea of how to travel.

Between conferences with important people and courses in the universities, Longfellow walked through the countries. He stopped at small inns and cottages, talking to peasants, farmers, traders, his silver flute in his pocket as a passport to friendship. He travelled in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and England, and returned to America in 1829. At 22, he was launched into his career as a college professor. He had to prepare his own texts, because at that time none were available. Much tribute is due him as a teacher. Just as he served America in making the world conscious of its legend and tradition, so he opened to his students and to the American people the literary heritage of Europe. He created in them the new consciousness of the literature of Spain, France, Italy, and especially writings from the German, Nordic, and Icelandic cultures. In 1831, he married Mary Storer Potter, whom he had known as a schoolmate. When he saw her at church upon his return to Portland, he was so struck by her beauty that he followed her home without courage enough to speak to her. With his wife, he settled down in a house surrounded by elm trees.

He expended his energies on translations from Old World literature and contributed travel sketches to the New England Magazine, in addition to serving as a professorand a librarian at Bowdoin. In 1834, he was appointed to a professorship at Harvard and once more set out for Europe by way of preparation. This time his young wife accompanied him. The journey ended in tragedy. In Rotterdam, his wife died, and Longfellow came alone to Cambridge and the new professorship. The lonely Longfellow took a room at historic Craigie House, an old house overlooking the Charles River. It was owned by Mrs. Craigie, an eccentric woman who kept much to herself and was somewhat scornful of the young men to whom she let rooms. But she read widely and well, and her library contained complete sets of Voltaire and other French masters. Longfellow entered the beautiful old elm-encircled house as a lodger, not knowing that this was to be his home for the rest of his life. In time, it passed into the possession of Nathan Appleton.

Seven years after he came to Cambridge, Longfellow married Frances Appleton, daughter of Nathan Appleton, and Craigie House was given to the Longfellows as a wedding gift. Meantime, in the seven intervening years, he remained a rather romantic figure in Cambridge, with his flowing hair and his yellow gloves and flowered waistcoats. He worked, however, with great determination and industry, publishing 'Hyperion', a prose romance that foreshadowed his love for Frances Appleton, and 'Voices of the Night', his first book of poems. He journeyed again to Europe, wrote 'The Spanish Student', and took his stand with the abolitionists, returning to be married in 1843. The marriage was a happy one, and the Longfellow house became the center of life in the University town. The old Craigie House was a shrine of hospitality and gracious living.

The young people of Cambridge flocked there to play with the five Longfellow children - two boys, and the three girls whom the poet describes in 'The Children's Hour' as "grave Alice and laughing Allegra and Edith with golden hair." From his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne, Longfellow got a brief outline of a story from which he composed one of his most favorite poems, 'Evangeline'. The original story had Evangeline wandering about New England in search of her bridegroom. Longfellow extended her journey through Louisiana and the western wilderness. She finds Gabriel, at last, dying in Philadelphia. 'Evangeline' was published in 1847 and was widely acclaimed. Longfellow began to feel that his work as a teacher was a hindrance to his own writing. In 1854, he resigned from Harvard and with a great sense of freedom gave himself entirely to the joyous task of his own poetic writing. In June of that year, he began 'The Song of Hiawatha'. Henry Schoolcraft's book on Indians and several meetings with an Ojibway chief provided the background for 'Hiawatha'.

The long poem begins with Gitche Matino, the Great Spirit, commanding his people to live in peace and tells how Hiawatha is born. It ends with the coming of the white man and Hiawatha's death. The publication of 'Hiawatha' caused the greatest excitement. For the first time in American literature, Indian themes gained recognition as sources of imagination, power, and originality. The appeal of 'Hiawatha' for generations of children and young people gives it an enduring place in world literature. The gracious tale of John Alden and Priscilla came next to the poet's mind, and 'The Courtship of Miles Standish' was published in 1858. It is a work which reflects the ease with which he wrote and the pleasure and enjoyment he derived from his skill. Twenty-five thousand copies were sold during the first week of its publication, and 10,000 were ordered in London on the first day of publication. In 1861, the happy life of the family came to an end. Longfellow's wife died of burns she received when packages of her children's curls, which she wassealing with matches and wax, burst into flame.

Longfellow faced the bitterest tragedy of his life. He found some solace in the task of translating Dante into English and went to Europe for a change of scene. The years following were filled with honors. He was given honorary degrees at the great universities of Oxford and Cambridge, invited to Windsor by Queen Victoria, and called by request upon the Prince of Wales. He was chosen a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and of the Spanish Academy. When it became necessary to remove "the spreading chestnut tree" of Brattle Street, which Longfellow had written about in his 'Village Blacksmith', the children of Cambridge gave their pennies to build a chair out of the tree and gave it to Longfellow. He died on March 24, 1882. "Of all the suns of the New England morning," says Van Wyck Brooks, "he was the largest in his golden sweetness." 136 Poems written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The poems are by default sorted according to volume, but you can also choose to sort them alphabetically or by page views.

The Village Blacksmith Analysis by Henry Longfellow - Beaming Notes 1 The Village Blacksmith Analysis by Henry Longfellow Krishna February 20, 2015 H.W.Longfellow , Poem Analysis (by Poet) , Poets with initials F to J , Poets with initials H Context: This poem is written by Henry Longfellow, an American poet, who was a famous figure in America during the 19th century. By the time of 1850s he gained fame, and his poems became famous worldwide. He is known for his romantic imagery poems, and the dual meaning behind them. He can see through very mundane of the activities and connect them with the truth of life. His all poems have some connection of the ordinary things with a larger picture. In this poem, the poet is trying to convey that we are the masters of our own fate, through the description of a village blacksmith. He gives a distinction of the village blacksmith and how he dwells for his living, and also creates objects made of metal. He is honest and hardworking, and never cheats anyone.

He also has a social life, where he goes to church every Sunday, and watches his daughter singing in the choir. He finds an image of his late wife in his daughter, which has made him proud and emotional about her. He listens to the prayers and feels peaceful about his life. He dwells in the morning, and he works till the sunset to earn his living, and he is satisfied with his life. The poet thanks the blacksmith for somewhere teaching him that like he molds and melts metal to make something new out of it; we all are the makers of our fate. It’s in our hands how our future is going to be, it’s in the actions that we do in the present. Like the blacksmith, we slowly work towards how our life and character becomes in coming time. Rhyme Scheme and Structure: The rhyming scheme of this poem is simple, and has been followed thoroughly in the poem, which is a b a b a b. For example, Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, For the lesson thou hast taught! Thus at the flaming forge of life Our fortunes must be wrought; Thus on its sounding anvil shaped Each burning deed and thought.

The words chosen in the poem are simple, and make the readers to understand the poem easily. The poem is written in simple style, and has punctuations to help the reader pause, to understand the flow of the poem better, and understand the deep meaning behind it. The punctuations help the reader to understand the highs and lows of the expressions in the poem. For example: Under a spreading chestnut-tree The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands. Theme: Longfellow has created a beautiful comparison between the works of the blacksmith with how we mold our future in our hands. The poet has given a close observation of the life of a normal village blacksmith, and compared to the idea of one being the master of his own fate. He explains the life of the blacksmith, who breaks and burns the metal and molds it. Similarly, in our life, failures are breaking points, where there is something new and better is in process of formation. Hence, wed need to work hard to make our life, and keep moving forward without losing hope in life.

Imagery: The poet provides beautiful image of the personality and appearance of the blacksmith. For example, in the lines: His hair is crisp, and black, and long, His face is like the tan; His brow is wet with honest sweat, He earns whate’er he can, And looks the whole world in the face, For he owes not any man. These lines draw an image of how the blacksmith looks like, and how his work and harsh environment has shaped him into how he appears. The poet has tried to give us an image of the blacksmith’s character too, by telling about his lifestyle, where he is honest and religious. He is a person who loves his family, God, honesty, and is content with what he gets in life. All these elements in the poem helped to create an image of a noble man who is far from temptations, and an ideal individual we all should try to be. Symbolism: The poet speaks about how he is inspired by the blacksmith that we can make and break out own fate, and how we can shape it.

The blacksmith becomes a metaphor for the readers, that like the blacksmith shape things out of raw and crude metal, we are, similary, makers of our own fate and future, where we can mend and mold our life accordingly. The poet gives hints about the honesty of the blacksmith, which means that only if we are honest with what we sow, what we reap is going to be favourable to us. The poet also brings in elements of religion and faith in the poem too. Deep Meaning: The poet wants to tell us that like the blacksmith, our life and future is always in process of formation, and hence we should try and do such things which would make our future beautiful and favourable for us. Our future is in our hands, like the metal in the hands of the blacksmith, and we shall work hard to get beautiful results out of it.

Question: Who penned the poem, "The Village Balcksmith"?
Answer: HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW